Neighbors

Max and his friends had hours of outdoor neighborhood fun after school, until dreaded bedtime ruined it for everyone.  But Max has not let that stop him from having fun.  In fact, he just beckoned daddy unpstairs to, "blow me up like a basketball!"  He should be tired at 9pm since he has been awake since 4:30am, but only his parents are.

Mealtime is quickly becoming Kira's favorite part of the day...

She will even eat her dolly!

Kira had blueberries for the first time today, and no surprise, she liked them!

"I need to look at my hair in the mirror.  I look like Derek Jeter and Murray [from The Wiggles]."

Siblings supporting siblings

Kira was crying because her third helping of dinner was 30 seconds away from being ready.  Max hopped out of his chair to tell her it was going to be okay.   It worked.  The question is why doesn't that same technique work on Max when he is crying?

Hot dog!

Max had an incident this morning involving his zip up pjs and his boy parts. He recovered quite well considering the injury.  Kira was very supportive. 

The 5:45am Jeter marathon continues 

Superfoodie

We realized tonight that Kira is by far the healthiest eater in the house.  She has added an assortment of fruits and veggies to her bottle regime; so far she has not met a purée she does not like.  Today she tried kale for the first time.  For BREAKFAST!  Add that to the list of reasons she is the best girl in the world.

Yummy kale

Max and Kira gave daddy a Derek Jeter book for his birthday.  It is filled with baseball photos. Max's favorite photo is of Derek Jeter's battered face right after a famous play coined, "The Dive".  Jeter literally dove into the stands to catch a ball and smashed into an empty seat.  He was bruised and bloody, but more importantly, caught the ball.  Max is obsessed with this photo, and now, watching the play on YouTube, while looking at the photo.  He says, "I want to bleed," like Derek Jeter.  He moved a chair to the basement so that he could catch a ball and smash into the chair.  Why does he love this so much?  "I love it because I like it."  Profound. 

Good morning! 

Max somehow ripped himself away from "The Dive" on repeat, to poop.  He came back to show mommy that he wiped his bum all himself.

Hand chewing...

and jumping al fresco

Thirds, please!  

Max said he was cold.  Any excuse to have white blankey near by will do.

The only way to get off all of those sweet potatoes was in the bath. 

Babies

Max has never stopped moving and now he really does not stop talking.  He has something to say about everything and he is always right.  Today he asked for candy and his wicked witch of a mom offered him a lollipop.  Her insulting offer was met with this gem:

"Lollipops are NOT candy.  It's kind of like...umm it's like... It's like urrr...OHH it's...it tastes like a lollipop!"

Little baby

Big baby aka: GOOF BALL

Max loves to climb in and snatch Kira's paci.  He never used one as a baby, so he is taking full advantage of Kira's collection.

Practicing baseball on the deck with Pawley and doggy

It was another beautiful day to play outside.  Max played basketball next to some little puppies who were also playing ball with a tiny basketball.  "Mommy!  Did you know dogs play basketball with their mouth!?" he said as he watched the pups from a close distance. "Do they have a car seat?" he sadly asked when they left.

This playground was just like the playground at the beach we went to this past summer in New York, sans the splash pads galore.  Max immediately recognized the unique play structure and asked, "Are we going to get crabs here?" Nope, but great memory, as usual!

"It's a golf course!" Max said of this strip of turf.  He was very upset to not find a hole, but since his golf clubs were at home it was probably for the best.  It made a great place to play soccer and there was even a bench that Max insisted mommy put her purse so that she could fully be involved in the game. 

Opening Day

Today was the one of our (Max's!) busiest Saturdays ever.

...but first some hugs

The Lugnuts marched in the Reston Little League Opening Day parade.  They mostly strolled around, in and out of the parade route, holding hands.

Sunshine!

After the parade, opening ceremonies, and team pictures, Max came home for a quick [drive-thru] lunch.  He even took a nap, meaning he must have been super tired.  In regards to being tired, it should be noted that Max has gone to sleep for three nights (and one nap) in a row, without a major meltdown and hours of tears.  Thank. You. Max.  

Max loves his car!  And Kira really likes it too, but she was not happy that her car stopped moving.

After nap, we all went to Max's very first blastball game!  Kira is already an avid fan.

Max had a great hit off his very first at bat.  Daddy was coaching first base.  Sidenote:  In 'Blastball' there is only one base.  But Max ran them all!

After the game went to Tessa's first birthday party.

It was the perfect day for an outdoor party.  

TGIF

Headed home from the Hughes-Herndon Middle School basketball game.  Max and Kira were on their best behavior and had a lot of fun, too.  

Our team won the game by about 30.  Max and Kira could not contain their excitement. 

Max spies, "a giant cat that walks around", the Hughes mascot, a panther, who Max obviously called Pawley.

Trying out his new cars.  The deck is looking like a used car lot.

Max's ride home from school 

Errands with mommy 

Kira's drawers are so packed with clothes that they hardly close, but mommy still jams her into these 3 month pants.

Birthdays!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Look what Kira and mommy found for $2.37 each!  When Max saw them he said, "Timmy left his cars here!"  The truth is, mommy took a really easy way out of breaking up toddler fights and temper tantrums.  But price was reason enough.

Max is the most into the Derek Jeter book he got daddy for his birthday.  He looked at every single picture.  Several times on several hundred pages.  Kira was the least excited of the three, but she enjoyed snuggling with daddy.  After helping mommy wrap the book this morning, Max had Jeter on his mind and asked on his way to school, "Mommy whys Derek Jeter retire? Because he got older.  I'M getting older.  I need to go to retire." 

Before daddy got the words out, "Max, do you want to blow out the candle?", it was done.

Hugs for the next birthday girl- Tessa is one today!

Sadie and Max played on Tessa's BIRTHday last year...and this year.  My how they have grown.  Especially Sadie's hair!

Max's first baseball practice. This is the 'Lug Nuts' learning to be 'Baseball ready' in the outfield.  The practice did not go as well as this photo may reflect, but on the bright side, there is no where to go but up.  After all, Max may despise listening to adults and following rules, but he does love baseball.  He is VERY good at going potty, almost too good.  He had to go twice at practice and since there are no facilities Max, "went in the woods like a BEAR!"  That may have been his favorite part of practice.

Bedtime with the Jeter book